Seventeen Seconds Earlier
by Glaurung II
Summary: There were seventeen seconds between Thor insulting his father and Loki trying to intercede for his brother. "What if?" story where Loki tried to take matters into his own hands before it was too late for everyone.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **All characters are © Marvel.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

Angry, bitter words resonated in the Observatory. The Allfather wasn't unleashing his entire wrath on his son, though it didn't make the scene less intimidating. When he was but a little kid, Loki would try to contain successfully the tears that such fights caused, lest he would be the next target for not acting like a warrior and falling prey to fear; then he would resent Thor for always being the cause of so much discomfort yet manage to be their father's favorite. Now that they were adults it wasn't terror what would seize him but an uncomfortable knot on his stomach; as Thor grew older, the trouble he could cause grew in weightiness, and this time it could have dire repercussions for two entire kingdoms.

Odin and Thor's tempers clashed like two tidal waves. Whoever tried to stop them would be washed away, except for the Queen, who could render both silent with a single word. But Frigga wasn't there, and it had to be Loki the one to do it, one way or another.

"While you wait and be patient, the Nine Realms laugh at us!" hollered Thor. "The old ways are done. You'd stand giving speeches while Asgard falls!"

That had gone too far! Loki though quickly of a way to make them snap off from their trance and think things twice before speaking. It only occurred him one thing, something that he had been entertaining since they were little kids, but that he had never gathered the courage to put into practice.

"You're a vain, greedy, cruel boy!" Odin accused.

It was now or never! With a flick of his hand, he concentrated his thoughts on Thor's face and closed his eyes.

"And you ar-" Thor's retort was cut short as his lips sealed together, rendering him mute.

"LOKI!" the Allfather bellowed.

"Father-"

"How dare you interrupt a discussion between your elders?" Odin's right hand was slightly trembling from sheer rage.

"This needs to end," he said, trying his best to keep his calm now that the fury was directed at him. "I couldn't stop him from going to Jotunheim, yet I couldn't let him go unguarded."

Odin glared at him. Since he was an infant his father had been an intimidating force, capable, with a single glance, of choking the words in his throat. Loki didn't know what force had possessed him that time to be able to speak, but part of him was starting to regret his decision.

"You couldn't stop him," Odin repeated, slowly, in a disdainful tone. "You? The one who could persuade a Frost Giant to light a fire and sit on it?"

Loki was at a loss for words. It was true that he had arranged for the failed coronation, that he had knowingly struck the right cords on Thor's mind afterwards so he would do something reckless that would push back a great deal of time his official investiture; but he had never foreseen that one of those brutes would insult Thor. The rest was all too predictable. Thor's pride was as tender as thick and hard was his skull and a simple name calling was enough to awaken his ire.

"You wanted this to happen, didn't you?" Odin asked, far too knowingly. The iciness on his voice was piercing. "You stood idle while your brother plunged head first into a dangerous situation and only sent Heimdall for me when the damage was already done, when you could have gone to me first and foremost before treading through the ice of Jotunheim.

"You disappoint me, Loki" he continued. "I always thought you too wise to fall prey to envy. You wanted to appear as the sensible one, the all too responsible brother who couldn't help being swept along and only acted out of the uttermost loyalty."

Loki swallowed hard. It was seldom him the one who got into trouble with Odin. His yearning to be the perfect son would push him to never make a mistake, so his father would see some day that he was fit for the throne as much as Thor, if not more. However, he saw all his hopes vanish in an instant.

Odin plunged Gungnir into the Observatory's control panel, turning it to life. The turret could be heard turning, the Bifrost energy building up around them.

"Loki Odinson," he thundered, making Loki's blood run cold. "You have permitted disobeying the express command of your King. Through your treacherous and egoistical behavior you have put in danger your own kin that you sworn to defend with your life, and have helped exposing these peaceful Realms and their innocent people to the horrors and desolation of war."

Loki heard the portal opening with a loud roar behind him, but to him it was only a dim rumble among the havoc that his father's words caused inside him.

"I hereby take from you your powers," Odin continued, extending his hand towards Loki.

As the Allfather pronounced the sentence the winds swirled around Loki, who doubled himself in pain, feeling as if life itself was being drained out of his lean body; yet he refused to let any groan escape his lips.

"In the name of my father," Loki saw how his armor disappeared in the whirlwind. "And of his father before," the pain stopped, and he directed a last pleading glance towards Odin. "I cast you out!"

A great force tore him away from the Observatory into the open vortex. The last thing he could hear over the Bifrost roar was the voice of his brother imploring the Allfather to stop.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

He felt himself landing on a ground of sand and dirt. It hadn't been a smooth traveling, swerving without control and with no idea of what his destiny would be. For all he knew Odin could send him to Muspelheim without so much of a second thought but, as events unfolded, he never had much time to assess the situation as he would have liked.

Many blinding lights pierced the thick cloud of dust that enveloped him. They were approaching at a great speed and, before he could jump aside, a large mass of metal swerved and hit him with its side.

"Motorcars… Midgard," where the only two words that his mind could conjure in the split second before noticing the vehicle and being hit, then it was all a whirlwind and darkness.

Hurried steps approached him.

"I think it was legally your fault!" a woman's voice said behind him. Yes, it was Midgard.

"Shut up and get the first aid kit!" a second woman replied angrily.

Small hands turned his shoulders and cupped his face.

"Please," the second woman's voice said above him. "Do me a favor and don't be dead!"

He opened his eyes with a groan. A young female was anxiously waiting for him to wake up. It would take more than being run over by a van to actually hurt him, and that he had almost lost consciousness was due to being dizzy from the travel in the first place, or so he wanted to believe. He wished to calm that girl with such information, but he quickly checked himself, remembering that Midgardians had taken in the last centuries a taste for dissecting or setting fire to the supernatural instead of worshipping it.

"Wow," the first woman said behind him. "Does he need CPR? 'cause I totally know CPR."

He groaned again and closed his eyes, trying to get up.

"Where did he come from?" the woman next to him asked as she helped him to his feet, but then something distracted her. "Oh my God, Erik… look at this!"

_"So much for helping the injured,"_ Loki thought.

The Bifrost always left a mark on the landing site as a way to know where it would be easier to pick up the travelers. Of course, on Realms where the weather was less than welcoming the mark always got covered or erased before it was time to return. Loki had suggested at some point that it would be better to leave a luminous sign only visible to Asgardian eyes, but he was rebutted on the basis that magic was too risky and that a marking on the ground looked more natural, as if someone had amused himself drawing it. Loki doubted very much that anyone could consider 'natural' that one of his fellow citizens had such fanciful distractions, but took care on not voicing his opinion that time, seeing how proud Heimdall was of the pattern he had designed.

"We've got to move fast before anything changes!" the woman said as she took out a small contraption and pointed it towards the ground.

Loki tried his best to stand up, but he nearly tripped and fell over. It was time to put on his act.

"Shouldn't we bring him to a hospital?" the man called Erik asked the woman with the contraption.

"It'll take too long," she said. "We need soil samples before it gets blown away and-"

"Who are you?" Loki asked them, as he backed away some steps.

"Are you all right, son?" Erik asked. "I'm Erik Selvig, this down here is Jane and the one who wanted to resurrect you is Darcy Lewis."

Selvig walked towards him, but Loki extended his hands, looking panicked.

"Take it easy, son, we are friends," Selvig assured. "Tell us what happened to you."

"I…" he lowered his eyes and grimaced. "I can't… I… my head!"

"O, God, amnesia," Darcy murmured.

"Jane!" Selvig said as he put one of Loki's arms around his neck for support. "He needs medical attention now! Leave that and help me!"

Jane hastily packed everything and took the other arm around her neck while Darcy started the engine.

Hospitals were a more or less safe place, and Loki knew it. There he would have shelter for a few days until he could collect his thoughts and decide on how to carry out his emergency plan. Thankfully, he had encountered good-willed people this time around; having his magic sealed prevented him from using any artifice to hide from hostile eyes. But what Odin could never seal was his brain. That was where the main difference between Thor and him lay: If you stripped the golden haired prince off his strength and Mjolnir, what would remain? Only his charm with the maidens (which in some cases was debatable) and bravado. Loki, however, had his wits and his way with words.

He feigned having lost consciousness as soon as they helped him into the van. Such a curious place! Many decades must have gone by since he last visited, indeed! They had time to invent all kinds of gizmos in what looked like an attempt to have advanced technology.

Their conversation was hushed and scarce at first, mostly dealing with how the girl called Darcy had driven and run him over, to what Darcy rebutted that it was Jane's fault in the first place for making them plunge into the base of a supernatural lightning tornado at full speed and then swerving the wheel like she did. The argument was cut short by Selvig, who claimed that the two girls were giving him a headache.

Loki would have enjoyed his little prank a bit more if his mind hadn't been in such turmoil. He was stuck in Midgard without his powers, and with no way of returning or trying to communicate with anyone from Asgard. But the most distressing thing was that Thor was alone; just when he needed to be restrained the most Odin had split them apart. He could only imagine the havoc that his brother's temper could cause at the palace, or which things he could say to Odin while drunk in rage.

Brother…

Were they brothers after all?

The moment when he had been grabbed by the Frost giant played again in his mind. His arm should now be like Volstagg's, blackened and necrotized because of the contact. But to him it didn't hurt; the touch felt colder than normal, yes, but nothing more. And then the color and the markings that sprouted on his own skin. That Giant had looked at it and then at his face with a knowing sparkle in his blood-red eyes.

What if…?

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **All characters are © Marvel.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

The van jerked to a stop; Selvig went out and called for some people to help him. Soon he felt himself hauled and put on a stretcher as they asked what had happened to him.

Loki endured patiently as nurses dressed him in hospital garbs. It was an awkward experience being fully conscious of what happened around you, but choosing not to show signs of it. In no time they left him alone on a bed, and he finally could feign regaining consciousness.

Hospitals had changed very much since the last time he had been on Midgard, and so did doctors and procedures. He panicked at one point when they insisted on taking a scan of his head to see if there was any injury that would explain his amnesia. The source of his distress was no other than the results being so alien to doctors that they started making uncomfortable questions or calling some authority. But, no matter how much he protested, they wouldn't listen, and Loki had to pluck up courage and submit willingly to said scan. To his absolute relief, not only was it like any other Midgardian's, but aside from a sore spot on his head, he was in perfect health.

Once doctors were satisfied with the tests they could run on him, they left their patient sleeping through what was left of the night, with the promise that the following day the Sheriff would arrive to take some data off him that would reveal who he was.

_"Who am I?"_ he echoed on his mind as he looked at the wristband around his left arm; among several rows with numbers, there was a space for his name: 'John Doe', an all-purpose name when the real one was unknown. He had to escape as soon as possible and construct a suitable identity for himself.

Odin knew perfectly that it had been Thor's temper what had caused this situation so, why exiling him instead?

Could it be that…?

He had been brought up in Asgard as a prince. He had a brother, a father and a mother who taught him all the magic he knew, and with whom he held a tighter bond than with anyone else. All his life he had been taught that his father had defeated the Frost Giants when they had gone to conquer the people of Midgard, who were weak and poorly defended. The Asgardians had taken this Realm under their wing and pushed the Giants back to their land, where they were finally defeated and stripped from their greatest source of power.

Was it the only thing they took?

He had always felt different but, was he really _that_ different?

Suddenly realization hit him like a knife in the chest. What if Odin had already suspected that he knew the truth and exiled him because of that? Jotunheim was forbidden for a reason other than to keep the peace treaty, the Realm was banned especially _to_ him. Not that it had been the first time he had visited the Realm, but he had always kept his distance from its inhabitants.

Why taking and then discarding him as if he wasn't worthy anymore? Why fostering and having him growing up with Odin's true son to then sending him away once the Allfather suspected that Loki could have uncovered the truth?

All these thoughts and questions raced through his mind as he watched the doctors and nurses coming and going from where he was. Soon the shift would change, a perfect opportunity to escape. He hadn't been a conflictive patient and he knew how to blend in.

The moment came when he could hop off his bed, put back his old, tattered clothes and walk quietly through the corridors, searching for an exit. He could swear he heard the voices of the people who had found him echoing through the hallways, but dismissed it as an aftereffect of tiredness and agitation.

Once outside there was another problem: He was in an area where everything was very far away. He needed transportation and, thought he could revive the few driving lessons he had taken, he doubted that they could be applied to modern motorcars at all.

Wandering through the parking lot bore no results, and he started to feel concerned of security noticing him. He then decided to walk to the town and try to get his bearings from there.

But fate had it that, when he was about to cross the road, he had only a fraction of a moment to notice the white metal mass moving and hitting him with enough force to knock him unconscious for a second time.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

When he woke up, he found he was laying on the backseat of a familiar vehicle. Still, he didn't open his eyes right away.

"Sure he doesn't need CPR?"

"Darcy, will you knock it out?" Jane's voice snapped.

"Fine, but you are angry because I'm voicing your thoughts," he could picture Darcy smiling as she said that. He hoped that women had become looser at expressing their feelings during his absence and that such jokes and jabs were normal among common people.

He groaned loud enough so that his hosts noticed that he was listening and sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"How are you feeling?" asked Selvig.

"Dizzy… weren't you taking me to a hospital?" he was more resilient than an average human, but if such rough treatment continued he might suffer consequences.

"Actually," said Darcy. "We are taking you _from_ the hospital."

"You were wandering in the street anyway," Jane pointed out.

"Yes, I was trying to get away and then…" he feigned a confused frown. "What happened then?"

"You tripped," Darcy hastily.

"Yeah, you tripped," echoed Jane, her cheeks of a bright red. "And then we had to…"

"We supposed you were out from the hospital and didn't want go back so, since it was only a little bump, we decided to take you with us," ended Darcy.

In normal circumstances he would have played a prank to get even, a very good one. But said normal circumstances involved being in Asgard and that the person responsible of his physical discomfort had done so intentionally. This was one of the very rare times when someone hurt him without malice. There was also the fact that he depended upon these people to get somewhere; yes, they hadn't been the best of hosts so far, but at least they seemed honest and clueless enough for him to carry out his plans.

"Still can't remember your name?" asked Jane, wanting to change the subject.

"Eh, no, I'm afraid I can't."

"What if we name him?" Darcy said.

"Darcy…" Selvig warned.

"But he needs a name," she protested. "We can't call him 'hey dude' all the time!"

"Robert will suffice," Loki said, bringing the discussion to a halt.

"Robert it is, then," Jane nodded. "So, tell us, Robert, how did you arrive here?"

"You can't expect me to remember how I got here if I can barely recall my own name," he chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right," she corrected herself. "But we have some photos that might refresh your mind."

_"Photography has gotten that far?"_ he wondered, but he said aloud: "I'd rather have a shower first, please."

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

He turned the water as cold as he could and stepped inside, but quickly jumped out, cursing and shivering, and turned the tap to hot. Nothing had happened to his skin except for the appearance of goose bumps. Either he needed a much lower temperature or his Jotun nature had been sealed away along with his magic.

As soon as the water was suitable, he let it trickle down his neck and back, trying to relax his tension.

If Odin had also rendered him a mortal along with sealing his magic, that would explain everything that had happened so far while on Midgard. He would then age, wither and die in a few decades. Such an ignominious end for someone who had been worshipped as a god!

But he wouldn't die in a corner, alone and forgotten. He had left the means during his last stay on Earth in case he needed a haven. He only had to contact the right people, something he had been planning on doing on his own as soon as the coronation business was over. Odin had just rushed things for him.

The clothes Jane had provided him to substitute her burnt and tattered ones were a bit saggy, especially the shirt.

It had been a relief when they gave him their names and what did they did for a living. They were scientists, occupied with the study of the Universe (or the small part of it that they could see from their system). Jane exceeded in her field, like other women before her but, like those very women, she got little credit for her work. Even so, Loki still heard her excited conversation with Selvig on the next room, a conversation that didn't stop when he opened the bathroom's door.

"I fear your friend might feel offended if you lend me his clothes," he told her.

"Friend?" Jane made a face, to then turn red as he presented the nametag with 'Donald Blake, M.D.' scribbled on it. "Oh, yeah," she exclaimed, yanking the nametag from his hand and tearing it to pieces while giggling nervously. "That was my ex. Good with patients and very bad with relationships."

"I'm sorry I brought this up-"

"Oh, nonono!" she opened the small book she was carrying as if searching for something, just a ruse to conceal her nervousness. "Sure you don't remember anything?"

It was clear she wasn't going to let him go until she got all her answers. He stared pensively at the board with photographs, charts and all sort of diagrams. There it was: a blurry image of the Bifrost's core with a humanoid shape just in the center, his body as he was about to land on Midgard.

Speaking to mortals about the Bifrost or the secrets from Asgard was strictly forbidden. Midgardians had always been considered a technologically inferior race and, as such, better left on superstitious beliefs rather than disclosing a truth they weren't prepared for yet.

But this mortal girl, this Jane Foster, not only knew about the Bifrost: she could actually predict the disturbances that its usage and its routine recalibration caused on their atmosphere, and actively sought them out. Now she had discovered it and she seemed to know it was a portal to another place. She gave it another name, an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, but she knew the truth. And she had that unwavering determination he knew oh so well.

"You think I'm this dark shadow?" he asked.

"What else?" she said excitedly. "There was no one else with you, and we had been there all night long without seeing or hearing another car."

That a human could understand the way they travelled between Realms opened many possibilities. However, he still chose to be cautious; that they had seen the Bifrost didn't grant they would believe that Asgard existed.

"Could you let me search for those who could verify my identity?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think so," her voice dropped, but she quickly tried to cover it up. He almost regretted seeing her so disappointed. "Who are they?"

"Have you ever heard of Presbury&Norwood?"

"Presbury&Norwood?" Erik echoed, a spark of recognition in his eyes.

"My real name is Robert Conrad Norwood," he said, bowing his head ever so slightly, satisfied that the story he had weaved so long ago still had some effect. If humans always loved something, it was a good legend.

"Goodness gracious…" the old man muttered.

"What? What's wrong?" Darcy asked.

The two girls had gathered around the man, who looked as if he was seeing a ghost.

"Presbury&Norwood was a famous brand of lawyers from England, from the Victorian era," Selvig explained, taking a seat and not tearing his eyes from Loki. "Albert Norwood disappeared a few years after cofounding it, leaving nothing but a very specific will that detailed who would inherit his fortune and his position on the company, if it still stood by the time the heir stepped forth. The contents of the will were never disclosed but… well, it was such a mystery that people began to muse and fantasize about the quantity of the fortune and when the heir would appear. They even made a documentary about it not too long ago!"

Jane was staring at Loki wide-eyed while Darcy bit her lip, trying to keep a straight face. Up until that moment everything was going smoothly.

"And you know this because…" Darcy's voice trailed off.

"Ah, well," Selvig looked as if he had just woken up from a trance. "I spent some time in England when I was younger. Everyone named Norwood was poked about it, and many even claimed to be the next heir, but they couldn't prove it. They even said that the will's manuscript was cursed and burnt everyone who wasn't worthy of it. I knew you looked familiar but… My goodness, you are exactly like your great-grandfather!"

Darcy began to protest again, but Selvig, not saying anything, typed something on one of the computers and showed them the result. The two girls remained in awestruck silence, gaping at the screen. Even Jane seemed to have forgotten that book she always carried around and was slowly sliding from her hands. Driven by curiosity, Loki edged behind them to get a view. There it was _Arthur_, standing alongside his partner James Presbury at their office's door; he would inquire later what had become of James. He had been an intelligent young man, but one whose talented mind never gave way to vanity. Wisdom was a quality Loki valued over anything else, if only because it was so seldom found in any Realm.

"That's great," Darcy mused. "You wanted an alien and got a rich, handsome dude instead. Not bad."

"But," Selvig continued. "You must know that the brand disappeared in the eighties, when you were but a baby."

"The will…"

"Oh yes, yes, it survived because it was cut off from the company's actives," Selvig waved his hand dismissively. "But the question is," his face grew serious, and his eyes dark with suspicion. "Why are you appearing _now_?"

Loki offered his best smile.

"I was raised in England under a different name," he began. "However, my father moved us to the States when I was still young. As soon as I knew the time was right I intended to travel back to my homeland but," he shrugged. "It seems like I had bad luck and I suffered a kidnapping from which I can't remember much."

Selvig said nothing, but the girls seemed somewhat convinced by his tale. Darcy broke the spell saying that their guest must be starving, and that there was a nearby establishment where they could invite him out to breakfast. No one said anything, but Jane took her jacket and headed for the door before anyone else did.

Breakfast was anything but silent, except from Jane; she kept absently revising her notebook while Darcy and Selvig questioned him about what he could remember from his former life. Thankfully, degrees in Law were never outdated; his amnesia played wonderfully on any inconvenient point.

Loki couldn't help stealing some glances at Jane. Table manners demanded that he had to speak to everyone, even if they were purposely ignoring him; however, he couldn't blame the young scientist for her disappointment, especially knowing that she was right.

Trouble kept following him wherever he went and it was a matter of time before it caught up with him; several townspeople entered the café, saying that some government men were dismantling the laboratory at the end of the street. Jane got to her feet and dashed past the burly men and nearly knocking a table in her haste. The rest followed her as fast as they could, but they were far too late.

Black suited men had loaded all the equipment in trucks with the speed and precision of an army. Jane stormed inside the building with a fury unexpected from such a small lady.

"What the hell is going on here?!" she thundered.

The other agents ignored her as the one who looked like their leader approached. He had a pleasant expression on his face, though it was nothing but a trained façade; his eyes, however, betrayed an inner strength and calmness worthy of an expert warrior.

"Miss Foster," he announced. "I'm Agent Coulson, with SHIELD."

Selvig seemed to recognize the name, for he promptly seized Jane's arm and whispered to her a warning.

"I don't care who they are," she said stubbornly. "This is my life's work! You can't do this!"

Loki noticed that Coulson had given a wordless signal and two men stood behind him.

"We're here investigating a security threat," he continued. "We need to appropriate your equipment and all your atmospheric data."

"By _appropriate_ you mean _steal_?"

Coulson produced a blank check and gave it to Jane, but that didn't seem to placate her.

"This should more than compensate you for your trouble," he said.

"I can't buy replacements!" she roared. "I made most of the equipment myself!"

"Then you can build them again," Coulson retorted calmly. Despite being talking to Jane, his eyes never left Loki, who noticed how the two men at his back were edging closer.

"You don't get it!" Jane yelled in frustration. "We are on the verge of understanding something extraordinary! Everything I know about this phenomenon is in this lab and in this book, and no one has the right to take it from me."

Coulson made a sign to a nearby agent, who snatched the book from her hands. Just when she was about to throw herself after the man, Loki restrained her and whispered to her ear:

"Your answers lie in the ancient knowledge," he said. "The Bifrost and Asgard exist before Mankind. Study those legends for the time being."

"You are also coming with us," Coulson interrupted, signaling to Loki.

"What?" said Jane. "Are you kidnapping people as well?"

"You are mistaken, Miss Foster," Coulson said. "He matches the description of the man who ran away from the County Hospital this morning, and we think that said individual might be linked to the threat."

"Oh, c'mon!" Darcy shouted. "He's more like a victim of a crime. Tell them!"

Loki raised his hands so the girls didn't complicate things even more.

"Agent," he said to Coulson. "I'm afraid this is a most unfortunate misunderstanding and I hope we can sort it out as soon as possible. I'll go with you voluntarily."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Coulson said to everyone.

As he was ushered into a black car, Loki could see Jane covering her face with her hands and Selvig trying to comfort her. Hopefully she would do as he suggested as soon as she could calm her nerves, though he doubted that they would believe him.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **All characters are © Marvel.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

The SHIELD encampment sat surrounding the arrival area. Many people were busy studying the intricate pattern. Loki chuckled, knowing that all their efforts were in vain.

They held him for questioning for a long time. Agent Coulson would come into the room and ask some questions, then go for several hours and then return to ask the same questions but with different wording and in different order. They mostly dealt with what he was doing there, how he ended up on the site of such an unusual phenomenon and why he ran away from the hospital.

How they got such information wasn't important to him. Loki followed Coulson's game with pleasure, playing the part of the distraught young heir who believed himself being hunted down to get the key of his fortune, and that now was plagued with amnesia, as one would play an ancient game with a child who tried to explain you the rules and acted as an authority on the matter.

Finally, Coulson confronted him openly about his supposed heritage.

"You know," he said. "One would think that a wealthy man like your great-grandfather would have left his fortune to his offspring, not to some descendant on the distant future."

"The old man was very strange," Loki shrugged. "Even so, he didn't leave his family unprepared."

"And, wouldn't your grandfather want to reclaim the inheritance? Why skip to the fourth generation?"

"I asked myself the same questions, even confronted my father while he laid on his dead bed, but he gave no reply and he took the secret to his tomb. I'm afraid I cannot answer you this time, only that I need to contact the notary at London and prove that I'm Norwood's descendant."

Coulson seemed to ponder it for a moment.

"It seems like it's dangerous for you to be out there," he wanted to call his bluff. "What would you say if we could bring someone from that notary over here to question you?" his smile vanished before Loki's enthusiastic response.

"Could you do that?" Loki sprung off his chair. "Oh, this is wonderful! At last my luck changes! Thank you so much, Mr. Coulson!" he exclaimed, shaking the agent's hand earnestly.

"Ok, ok," the other extricated himself from Loki's handshake and smiled awkwardly. "But I can't promise you anything."

"But it would take some time, wouldn't it?" Loki continued, not letting the other say a word. "Will you retain me here until then?"

"You said that someone attacked you."

"That's what I supposed," he shrugged. "I already told you that I have no other justification to what happened to me. I don't know, maybe they got what they thought they needed and left me alone, that's the only explanation as to why they didn't kill me already."

"So, your fortune is gone, then?"

"No," he laughed. "No one except me can reclaim it. My great-grandfather was very thorough, I assure you."

Coulson didn't seem very pleased, but he let him go. It would be a matter of time before they put him in contact with Selvig so the scientist could pick him up.

Loki knew it was a ruse from the Agent. Coulson couldn't refute his story but neither did he trust him. He was an agent, a keeper of secrets, and as such he ought to know when someone was hiding something. But let them suspect! The more doubt they had on him the further he could prove them wrong.

While Coulson greeted Selvig and they were on their way to the vehicle, he noticed the agent instructing two of his men to go behind them. What they couldn't follow was the movement of his hands as he took Jane's notebook from a table where many of her possessions were scattered. If there was someone who could help him with his plans, it was Jane.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

Instead of heading straight to the laboratory, Selvig insisted on stopping for a drink on a nearby bar. Loki had frequented such places the last time he had been in Midgard, when he wasn't mingling with the high society. The spirit of those establishments hadn't changed in over a century.

"Thank you for taking me out of there," Loki said.

"Don't thank me," Selvig answered curtly. "I did this for Jane."

"Did she investigate what I told her?"

Selvig threw him an unfriendly glance.

"Look, boy, I don't know if you are really a soon-to-be rich boy, someone who arrived via that Wormhole, a madman, or just a conman who takes advantage of everyone he stumbles upon, but I don't care one bit. Only Jane concerns me."

"I don't want to harm her," Loki said, knowing the path the conversation was taking. Many father figures had said similar words to him before. "I promise you."

"Good," Selvig said, drinking his beer in one gulp and signaling the barkeeper to serve him another. "Drink yours, and then you go out from this city, got it?"

Loki sighed, a wry smile on his lips. That was why he had brought him there.

"So," he said, playing with his half-emptied glass. "After growing up with stories about the Rainbow Bridge you don't seem to believe it when you get to behold them."

"See, Robert? That was what I was talking about! You told Jane about some old legends and now she's all worked up about having discovered another dimension."

Loki's retort was interrupted by a heavy hand on his shoulder. A tall, bulky (and very drunken) patron was behind him.

"I know ye," he reeked of alcohol and stale sweat. "Ye're that guy with those hot girls at Isabela's this mo'nin'."

"I might be, yes," Loki said cautiously, seeing that the man was looking for a fight.

"How can a sshkinny kid lik'ya score wi'h two wome' lik' those?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm not looking for a fight."

"Ha! Ye're just a prissy Brit!" he guffawed, but his face grew serious all of a sudden. "We wan' no prissy Brits 'round here."

Selvig was about to say something, but Loki interrupted him.

"What if this _prissy Brit_ challenged you to a contest?" he calmly said.

The patron's tiny eyes squinted. It was obvious that he wasn't used to any challenge that wasn't about showing off physical prowess.

He backed away some steps, still confused.

"Wha' contest?" he mumbled warily.

"I don't know," Loki mused aloud, rubbing his chin. "What about a speed eating contest? I'm sure a man of your size can beat someone as scrawny as me."

The other patrons had been listening to the entire exchange, so it was natural that they cheered when the big man accepted with a roar. Among the confusion, Loki took Selvig aside.

"How much money do you have?" he asked the scientist.

"What?!"

"Do you wish me to leave or not? I'll earn enough money to pay for my passage to London. Is that far enough for you?"

Selvig sighed loudly, putting fifty dollars on Loki's hand.

"You won't regret this," Loki promised.

"I'm doing it already," Selvig replied. "Sure you can do it?"

"You must be familiar with what happened with Utgard-Loki, I presume," he simply said, testing the elasticity of his trousers' waist. Fortunately they were somewhat big for him.

"What the…?" Selving's eyes opened like plates. "You won't try to emulate _him_, right?"

"Emulate?" Loki laughed. "I AM him! I did it and will repeat it with these mortal men.

"Very well, gentlemen!" he shouted to the crowd, oblivious to Selvig's dumbfounded look. "It's a speed eating game! Each round the bet doubles and the loser gets to pay for all the food!"

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **All characters are © Marvel.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

Jane's laboratory wasn't too far away, but having to drag a drunken Selvig with him slowed him down a big deal, though it was a good exercise which allowed him to digest all he had eaten that night. Loki had managed to beat, not only the drunkard who had challenged him, but also two other men until everyone got convinced that it was a lost cause. Selvig's drunkenness (partly encouraged by Loki himself) helped blur those memories so that the scientist couldn't recount any accurate detail of what had happened that night to none of the girls. Being fast at eating was one of his most prominent abilities, but also the one he was careful not to show too much.

He knocked on the trailer, presuming its occupant still awake, judging by the light inside. Jane opened the door in a hurry, to look horrified at Selvig.

"Erik!" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

"He's only drunk," Loki chuckled. "Seems like he had his share of celebration. Where does he sleep?"

Jane hurried them inside where Loki dropped Selvig on her bed. The older man woozily opened his eyes and smiled at the girl.

"Hey Jane!" he saluted her, to then look at Loki. "I shtill can't believe you are Loki, but you shure have a shilver tongue and a quick jaw."

Thankfully he drifted back to sleep before he could say anything more, and Jane seemed not to have heard it.

It was then when he became aware of how disarrayed the trailer was inside, and how embarrassed Jane felt about it all of a sudden. She tried her best to hide the mountain of dirty dishes in the sink but to no avail. It was a miracle that the plates and cups hadn't fallen already, and the girl throwing a rag over them nearly sent everything crashing to the floor. It was good that she was so self-conscious about her quarters, that way she didn't notice the stains of grease that Loki couldn't help getting into his clothes after that hectic night.

To avoid further mortification from her part, he evaded making any remark on the subject and limited himself to accepting her eager invitation to go outside. She then led him to the roof of the building, where she had two beach chairs with blankets, a telescope and a small brazier.

"I come up here when I can't sleep," she explained as she took a seat. "Or when I have to reconcile particle data, or when Darcy's driving me up the wall," she chuckled. "Now that I think about it, I come here a lot."

"Every brilliant mind needs a retreat," Loki said.

She smiled but, at the same time, she looked at him quizzically, as if trying to make out anything about him.

"I'm glad you are ok," she said.

"Thank you," he took something out from his jacket. "I couldn't take anything more with me, I'm sorry."

She looked at the small book in bewilderment.

"It's… I…" she stammered. "It's fantastic! Now I won't have to start from scratch! Thank you so much!"

He handed her the book, amused by her childish enthusiasm. But her expression darkened very soon.

"What's wrong?"

"SHIELD," she said. "Whatever they are, they won't let this investigation come out to the light."

"Maybe," he ventured. "But you are not going to let them strip you off from your life's work, are you?"

"It's not only mine," she leafed absentmindedly through the book. "It's also my father's."

"All the more reason to do it," he said. "Besides, you were this close to find out the truth."

"How do you know? You said you had nothing to do with anything of it."

"Jane," he hesitated. "What if I wasn't what I told you?"

"Like a conman who only plays along with what I say?" she said, her eyes on the book, but without actually reading anything. "I heard what Erik told you on the caravan."

"No, I…" he sighed. "Jane, I'm very sorry about having lied to you, but even though you witnessed the Bifrost, I doubted you had believed me if I had told you the truth."

He took the small book from her hands and searched for a page in particular.

"I hadn't realized," he kept explaining. "But you already have all the pieces of the puzzle, except one."

"Which is…"

"Have you ever wondered where that bridge leads?"

"Well…" she frowned, trying to remember. "The photos showed that the stars didn't correspond to ours, so the only logical conclusion is that it leads to another place in the Universe."

"Good enough. Now, have you read anything about what I told you?"

"Yes, I mean, what does that have to do with this? Erik was like mad, saying that those were just fairytales."

"Maybe he won't be saying such things in the near future," Loki ventured, still feeling an uncomfortable pressure on his waist. "What if I told you that your Einstein-Rosen Bridge was actually the Bifrost? What if Asgard wasn't a legend, but an advanced civilization which protected your people when they were still living in wooden cottages and hunting for a living?"

Jane looked at him wide eyed.

"Then I was right," she whispered. "Then are you…?"

"I used the Bifrost, yes," he took the pen on her book and chose a blank page. "Look," he said as he drew. "This is Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life that connects all the Nine Realms."

He spoke to her about the systems which were the Nine Realms: their names, the creatures which inhabited them, and about mortals already having discovered the branches of Yggdrasil and which systems they held. He then told her about Asgard: the Palace's glorious golden spires reaching for the clear sky; the sinuous cobbled streets of the city below, which paths were broken at intervals by squares where fountains of mother-of-pearl and gold murmured their incessant, crystalline song; gardens on perennial spring, home to sweet-voiced birds from other Realms; the lakes, waterfalls, the endless green meadows outside the city; the dark and ancient forests which still held long-forgotten secrets, the intricate structures which would be impossible to recreate in any other realm, for they were supported by a magic which was ancient as Asgard itself and, as he spoke, the memories and the thoughts he had been pushing away during that day came back to him.

Without realizing it, he was describing the feeling of the breeze against his skin before the day broke, and he stood on the tallest spire to behold the dawn; the play of colors on the sky and the sea as the day died and the stars appeared one by one; the crashing of emerald, aquamarine and sapphire waves on deserted beaches of white sand; the rumor of the wind when it caressed the golden and silver leaves of sacred trees, and the fruits they bore, not to be touched by mortal lips; the noisy evenings at the feasting halls, filled with the sweet aroma of mead and roasting meat, and with the sound of crackling fires, of laugher, music and songs about heroic deeds, and how sometimes it was best to get out into the chilly air to clear one's head from the liquor's influence, to then linger into the night's serene embrace until it was time to reenter into the suffocating atmosphere and start over again, or wander far away, to where silence would allow either some peaceful recollection or aimless drifting of the mind.

It all came to him, all those cherished days of careless youth, when the Universe itself seemed to bow to them: the two princes of Asgard, Mjolnir and Sorcery, power and cunning combined in an unstoppable force, or so they had believed in their conceit. Everything was now lost to him, all that he had known and loved dearly, for Odin had forsaken him without any hope of redemption.

"Loki," Jane whispered, startling him.

He felt as if someone had awoken him in the middle of the night. The fire on the brazier had nearly died out and now she was throwing some pieces of wood into it.

"You have been quiet for a long time," she said apologetically.

"I'm sorry," he rubbed his brow. "I was supposed to teach you a lot of things but I got derailed instead."

"You told me enough," she said, putting her hand on his arm again, this time with a reassuring squeeze, though she withdrew as soon as he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"I think we should go to sleep," she said, keeping herself busy arranging the blankets on her chair.

He smiled tiredly while observing her and noticed her colored cheeks. Soon he also made himself comfortable and prepared to spend the night there. His extremities ached and seemed to weight trice than normal, but he knew he would have a hard time sleeping.

The stars were familiar to him, if only because he had been visiting Earth so often. As he gazed at them, he felt something more powerful than nostalgia. He felt betrayed. He had been brought up believing a lie, that he had a family, that he belonged to a race of proud warriors and savants, of protectors, to then discover that he was one of those "monsters" Asgardians hated so much.

The moment Laufey heard the name of Odin, a fire of rage and hatred shone on his eyes, and he wouldn't stop calling him a thief and a murderer. Maybe Odin took him, Loki, as another prize, or as a prisoner of war to ensure the treaty was kept. Then, why having him believe himself as part of the royal family? He couldn't take that question out of his mind, or the events that lead to his current predicament.

"I was banished from Asgard," he said aloud, still looking at the stars.

There was movement on the other chair.

"The prince, Thor, was appointed to be the heir to the throne," he kept speaking quietly, but his tone was devoid of any emotion. "He wasn't prepared yet, though, and will not be for a long time. He can be sometimes a reckless brute who doesn't think for a second, always throwing himself headfirst in any fight, without any regard towards his soldiers or allies. Odin, the King, tried to teach him discipline and the basic concepts of politics and diplomacy, but he never listened. I tried to tell the King that Thor wasn't prepared, that it was too soon, but Odin would never listen to me.

"I had no other choice but to act. Deeds would do more than words, I thought to myself, so I planned everything to ruin Thor's great day, instigate his rage and push him to do something that would attract the attention of the Allfather. But," he chuckled scathingly. "Odin discovered it and sealed my magic, also stripping me from my immortality and leaving me on Earth until the day I die."

"Why would you help me, then?"

"What?"

"If you are helping me with my investigation," she said. "Isn't it to return to your home?"

There was a long pause then. Jane was right, what would he do then? He was no longer an Asgardian citizen, if Odin had punished him as severely as he thought. Heimdall would turn him away if not worse, and using brute force was out of the question, for it would imply gathering an army and starting a war with Asgard which would be doomed from the beginning.

"I have no home. Not anymore," he said at last, and spoke no more.

But on his mind he began to understand why Thor was the heir to the throne. It wasn't because he was the firstborn, it was because Thor had been an only child all along; and Loki had been kept away from any secrets not because they were restricted to the heir. It had to be it, that Odin was conscious all the time about Loki being a Frost Giant: a monster, thus subjected to its own brutal instinct.

Once a monster, always a monster.

If only it was something he could discard, but he couldn't tear his flesh open and rip whatever it was that made him different away. It was something he felt ashamed of, but he couldn't do anything to remedy it either.

The bitterness of it welled up on his throat, nearly chocking him: All his efforts to please, to be the good son, the one who, not only caused the smallest amount of trouble, but was also the one who so often fixed what Thor ruined… all had been doomed from the beginning. He hadn't been wanted, only kept alive and under surveillance for who knew which reasons, and then discarded when the treaty had been voided.

There was no reason for him to go back to Asgard, not now that he was but a mere mortal, destined to fade and disappear in a few years. He had neither the means nor the power to go back to his old home and face Odin.

But he could be king elsewhere. Heimdall was always watching over the Realms, after all. If he, Loki, could govern Midgard, or at least a great part of it, and keep peace in the same way that Odin did in the Nine Realms, he might prove that he wasn't a monster. He would die anyway, but he would do so laughing at Odin's face with his last breath, as the Frost Giant who ruled over Midgard, and the one who showed the path to Asgard and the rest of Yggdrasil to Humankind.

Loki raised his hands before his eyes. The hands which had woven so many spells, which had felled so many enemies, now stood impotent and weak as any mortal's. But, unlike mortals, he still had the knowledge and wisdom of many generations of them.

He could raise an Empire out of nothing, and write his name on History in such a way that future generations would remember him as a legend.

Yes, he could do that.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **All characters are © Marvel.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

The next day brought nothing new. Selvig had a monumental hangover and didn't seem to remember anything, Darcy was thrilled that they really bumped into an alien and Jane kept listening to Loki's stories about Asgard, asking a myriad of questions about the technology they used and how everything worked. Loki, from his part, also spent the day trying to get more familiar with modern technology; now that they knew he wasn't from Midgard he could ask as many questions as he wanted.

The second day, however, brought a surprise

Some men from SHIELD came to take him again to their camp. Apparently they had arranged that a notary came with the necessary documents so that he could prove that he was indeed the Norwood heir.

Coulson was there. As Loki shook hands with him again, he noticed a glint on the agent's eyes: They had prepared a trap of some kind for him.

He was then brought to a room with a table and some chairs. Some time later the notary, a tall, thin man, arrived and put an envelope in front of Loki.

"Mr. Norwood," the notary said. "I have to say it's a pleasure to finally meet you. We have been wondering for years when-"

"This is not the will," Loki interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"This is not the will," Loki insisted, pushing back the envelope. "I don't know if this is some kind of sick joke," he told Coulson, who stood some feet away from the baffled notary. "But I'm quite tired of these spy games. Either let me go to England or help me solve my problems but, please, do not play with me."

"But you barely took a glance," Coulson insisted. "How would you know?"

The game was so clear Loki wondered if they were trying at all. He took the envelope without even looking at it and put the seal facing the agent, not having to hide his annoyance.

"Let us start with the seal," he declared, throwing it across the table. "It's supposed to be a century old one, yet the wax is not of the same quality as the one used back then. Plus, the crest is but a poor imitation of the one used by my great-grandfather, since it lacks the very small indentation at the border that slightly deformed the imprint. The paper is new but artificially aged, it still smells, and let's not speak about the scribble that pretends to be my great-grandfather's handwriting. And you," he said, directing a piercing glance towards the notary. "I admit that your efforts at speaking with a Welsh accent are quite remarkable, but it still slips and, among other things, I noticed the callosities on your hand when we saluted; those only develop when one is used to regularly wield a handgun, a custom I'd hardly expect from a paper-pusher, except in the very unlikely case of London becoming a lawless city during these years, which I doubt," he turned back to Coulson. "When they told me SHIELD was a secret government agency, the last thing I expected was to face such substandard, poor excuse of a job, hastily put together and much worse delivered. Next time, Mr. Coulson, please don't choose a field agent to play the part of a sedentary office worker, and do tell your specialists to have more care with their unsteady hands."

Despite his words and the displeasure he didn't have to feign, part of him felt at ease. That they had put some effort demonstrated that they had believed him to some extent. They thought him a Midgardian citizen; of uncertain identity, yes, but Midgardian nonetheless. To be fair, the forgery was nearly perfect and no one would have told otherwise with just a glance, as he had done, but Loki could recognize what little clues he had left and they had failed to reproduce, along with the absence of the subtle enchantment he had cast on the envelope.

"You thought that, because there's no record of me in your database I'm bound to be a criminal and a fraud," Loki said. "I'm aware of my peculiar situation but, I assure you, I'm not lying."

Coulson smiled, barely concealing his disappointment.

"You win, Mr. Norwood," he said, signaling to his agent to stand up and leave them alone. "It seems you have a keen eye, but if it had been our men the ones to forge it I guarantee you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. We agreed to perform this little test on you at our guest's request; they were the ones who provided everything and we just played along because your story didn't add up. You can't deny that there are too many coincidences in this affair."

The door slid open and another person came into the room accompanied by the false notary. It was a woman in her forties called Mrs. Baxter, who didn't seem to enjoy having being taken away from her country for a transatlantic trip, but whose eyes lit up with a sparkle of recognition upon looking at Loki's face.

The woman took an envelope and placed it in front of Loki. He caressed it. There it was: the enchantment which allowed only him to break the seal. Fortunately it still recognized him, even when his magic and his immortality were sealed. Inside, another smaller envelope and a document, both of which he handled to the notary, whose face betrayed the shock at seeing the will finally open. Loki wondered in amusement how many idiots who vaguely resembled him had tried to supplant the real Norwood, only to find that they couldn't break a flimsy wax seal.

The document was the will itself, which detailed the identity of the man who would claim it to great detail (the faces of both Coulson and Mrs. Baxter were priceless) and instructed the notary to open the smaller envelope which contained two sheets of paper, one with symbols and the other with Latin scripture. She handled, as ordered in the will, the one with symbols to Loki, and she kept the other, careful that he didn't catch a glimpse of it.

Nor that he would have tried, though. The symbols were arcane language normally used for encoding spells, so only a sorcerer could read them, and the other was a transcription of how it would sound to a mortal ear. However, it wasn't a spell, for magic was frowned upon back in the day by Midgardians under the reign of Queen Victoria and, since he didn't expect things to change in that regard, he wrote instead a racy tavern song he had overheard Fandral singing several times.

Loki could have had a good laugh out of that situation if his predicament hadn't been so grim. However, it was quite surreal to keep on talking (in great detail and with colorful comparisons to boot) about a night spent with a tavern wench, all while speaking in a monotone voice, in front of a lady who would be outraged if she knew the meaning of his words. In fact, Fandral always sung it whenever there wasn't any risk of earning a black eye, courtesy of Sif.

"Your great-grandfather was a bit eccentric," Coulson commented once Loki had finished. "I had never heard of that language before. He even had your name foretold."

"Planned ahead," Loki corrected him. "He liked to think things ahead in great detail."

"There are still many procedures we have to complete," Baxter said, despite having a hard time trying to keep her composure. It wasn't every day that you came upon a lost heir.

They agreed on that _Robert Conrad Norwood_ had to accompany Mrs. Baxter to London as soon as possible to finish the procedures. Once the arrangements were made, however, Loki requested to speak in private with Coulson about Jane.

"You can't expect to tell me how to run this investigation, can you?" Coulson told him. "I have my orders."

"I know but, you must speak to your superiors about it. Tell me, how near was Miss Foster of discovering that _something_ she keeps talking about?"

"That information is classified."

"Think of the time your scientists will spend trying to decipher her theories, her calculations, everything. Wouldn't it be better if you had her working for you?"

Coulson raised an eyebrow, all traces of his affable smile vanished.

"Our scientists are more than capable, Mr. Norwood."

"You suggested that she could build her instruments a second time," Loki continued. "Are you going to have her under surveillance until she is again on the brink of discovery, to then steal everything from her? I assure you, she will do it a second, a third and even a fourth time, as if she were the next Sysiphus."

He let the words sink into the agent's mind.

"Why so much interest?"

"She found me wandering in the desert," Loki shrugged. "I owe her a favor. It's either you returning her equipment and having her rendering the results of her experiments to SHIELD, or me financing her investigation when I take possession of my fortune and having her working free from the influence of any government."

"Would you do that?"

"Why, of course," Loki chuckled. "The gentleman in me is always compelled to help a damsel in distress. Also, I am most interested in science and I don't think inheriting a fortune is going to subdue it."

"Not another rich nerd," Coulson murmured, rubbing his brow.

"But in all seriousness," Loki continued as if Coulson had said nothing. He would investigate later what _nerd_ meant. "If you construct a shield, it's because there is a threat looming in the horizon. While I can't imagine Miss Foster a mercenary, it still would be dangerous to have her running free, especially knowing how relentless she can be."

"You seem to know an awful lot about her," Coulson said suspiciously. "Are you sure she found you in the desert two days ago?"

"I'm just good at reading people," Loki laughed. "As if you didn't notice her character when you were seizing her property."

Coulson was silent for a moment, enough for Loki to know that his words were sinking in.

"The decision is not mine, Mr. Norwood," Coulson said, but Loki could see in his eyes that things were going according to plan. However, if it also worked with his superiors he couldn't know.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: **All characters are © Marvel.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

The mansion he had left behind was in such a deplorable state that he was advised not to enter, lest he would suffer an accident. While he could arrange the much needed reparations he had to move to the City, which made easier for him to get in contact with technology and the state of the world so far.

Midgard had changed very quickly in a matter of a century, but what never changed was the fact that wealth and polite words opened you most doors. It also made you famous, especially when you inherited a fortune that had become legendary; it was the perfect method to create a positive public image, for as soon as he arrived and mingled with the commoners he learned that they were truly devoted to what they called "the media". Communications had turned worldwide and almost instantaneous, which simplified his plans enormously. As soon as journalists heard the Norwood heir had appeared he was bombarded with offers to give interviews, but he took care that his public apparitions were scarce at first, while he adjusted to his new life.

Another thing that never changed was war. Conflicts were all around the world, be it for territory issues, genocides… it never ended. Humanity hadn't evolved enough to achieve a permanent peace. The biggest potencies, however, seemed to behave, but it was only because there was a stronger weapon out there: a man with a metal armor who called himself Iron Man. He didn't bother covering his identity, Anthony Stark, and relished on his fame like a hero would do; it was clear that big egos weren't restricted to Asgard. He was also a multimillionaire and owner of Stark Industries, the most important business in the technology sector. Though lately he had been engaged in all short of scandals and erratic behavior, the Company's reins were in the capable hands of Miss Virginia Potts, who acted as the CEO. Just like when Norse women stayed at home managing the gold and household, while their husbands were out plundering and pillaging, so did this woman who ran an entire Corporation while her man fooled around with a tin armor.

Though at first Loki had contemplated the creation of his own company, it would take far too much time and money. Stark Industries hadn't reached the level of importance that Loki needed until the second generation stepped in. Instead of creating his own empire and waging a time-consuming war upon the rest, he would slowly take control of each one of them, keeping the visible heads so subordinates didn't resent the new lord.

Loki had seen Miss Potts on television and read about her. She seemed calm, intelligent and skillful, someone worth dealing with. And he looked forward to do so, but not until at least he could sort out his other projects, like getting in control of Hammer Industries.

The former owner, Justin Hammer, had been involved in a shady business which included, among other things, smuggling a criminal out of jail and the creation of a small army of autonomous armors in the line of the original Ironman, which nearly killed thousands of bystanders, just because of an inferiority complex towards Stark. Loki could but shake his head at Hammer's antics and second-rate way of handling things, not being in the least surprised that he ended up in jail after his sloppy attempt of putting himself ahead of Stark who, being honest, had showed to be far more brilliant despite his eccentricities. However, it benefited Loki, for Hammer's Stock Prize had slumped, making it very easy to take control of the ruined industry and giving it a facelift.

But trouble found him yet again, and this time it was trouble with a capital T.

His cell's ring woke him up in the small hours of the morning. Sleepily, he fumbled with the lamp until he switched it on and could locate his phone; then he had to blink until he could distinguish the caller. It was Jane.

"Yes?" he rasped. They had been speaking with each other, be it by phone or videoconference, almost on a daily basis since he moved to London, but she had never awoken him in the middle of the night. It had to be something very urgent.

"Robert?" Jane's voice asked. They had agreed on using his Midgardian name in case SHIELD was listening. This time she sounded a bit hesitant, with an underlying anxiousness. "Sorry I woke you up."

A deep voice boomed in the background from her end of the line. That sound make a foreboding weight settle on his stomach, as well as waking him up completely.

"What happened?" he asked, if only to delay the reveal that he already conjectured.

"Well… uh, we caught another disturbance tonight and-could you please leave that alone?" she said to another person.

Loki rubbed his brow, his supposition having proven right.

"You have some visit."

"Yes, how did you know? Never mind. He says he's your brother and believes we have imprisoned you somewhere. Could you-?"

"Pass him on to me," he sighed, already sitting cross-legged on his bed, his chin resting on his free hand.

After a fumbling noise and Jane's hushed voice indicating how to use her cell, a deafening shout from her end made Loki take the phone away from his ear.

"BROTHER!" Thor's voice roared in joy. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Could you, please, keep it down?" Loki hissed, feeling the upcoming headache.

"Oh, sorry," Thor apologized. "I came to take you home. Tell me where you are and I'll come to pick you up!"

Panic began to well up inside him. He had been exiled, it was forbidden to bring back anyone banned by the King himself! What was this oaf trying to do? What if other mortals saw him?

"No! Go back before anyone notices!"

"No one will take heed," Thor bragged. "I assure you. Tell me where you are!"

"No, I will go instead. Do not move from where you are right now," Loki ordered. "Look, this place has changed a lot. Listen to me just once, please. Stay where you are."

"But, why? Midgard has always been safe for us."

Loki grinded his teeth in frustration; he had to speak very slowly so his voice didn't tremble.

"You not listening to me saying that you had to stay home is what got me stranded here in the first place."

There was a long silence from the other end.

"I'm sorry, brother," Thor's voice was barely audible.

This surprised him. It was the first time he had heard Thor so contrite.

"Wait for me there, please. I'll be there in a day. And do try to behave. Darcy and Jane are good girls and I don't want them to get into trouble. Oh, and tell Jane to lend you some clothes to hide your armor. Understood?"

"Understood."

He hung up without giving Thor a chance to say anything more. Something had changed in Asgard during his absence, he felt it on his voice, and it was bound to be something unpleasant if it had taken Thor's hubris down a notch.

The next thing was calling his secretary to tell her that he had to travel to the States a day before scheduled. He instructed her to cancel all his appointments and meetings in England, but confirm the one with Miss Potts.

His trip back to the States went smoothly, but it could have been better if only he had his own private jet already and didn't have to take a commercial flight. Why Thor couldn't wait a bit longer to pay him a visit?

Jane's laboratory still sat on that former repair shop, and was still full of gizmos that only she knew what they were for. Loki left the rented car beside Jane's caravan and hurried inside the building.

Thor was there, thankfully dressed as a Midgardian. Far from what Loki expected, the blond was behaving fairly well, sitting still and listening to whatever Jane was explaining to him.

Upon Loki entering, however, he got up and greeted him with a wide smile.

"BROTHER!" he bellowed, springing up from his seat. "We have been so worried about you!"

"Could you wait for me outside?" Loki said curtly, stepping back when Thor attempted to grab his shoulder.

Thor was taken aback by his terse tone, but said nothing and did as instructed while the girls watched in silence.

Loki let go a deep sigh once the door closed.

"He said he wanted you to go back home," Jane said softly.

He smiled wryly and shook his head.

"Thor is very impulsive," he told them. "But he's incapable of actual malice. I hope he didn't cause any trouble."

"Well…" Jane starter, hesitant.

"He ate all our poptarts," Darcy interrupted. "And then he nearly caused a traffic accident because he didn't want to look both sides of the road before-"

"Darcy, please!"

"What? I was going to say that besides that he did nothing more!"

"Nothing that I didn't expect, at least," Loki said as he turned for the door. "Thank you for your help."

"Wait!" Jane went after him. "Are you going to go with him?"

Loki shook his head, more to reassure himself than her. On his current state, Thor could drag him all the way to Asgard without a chance for a fight.

"Not if I can avoid it," he said instead.

Thor was waiting for him under the sunlight. It was nearly midday, but it wasn't enough to warm Loki's mood.

"It has taken you quite some time to come visit me," Loki remarked icily. "Three whole months. For all you knew, I could be sitting at a road's edge, starving to death. Why have you come?"

"We need you back at home," Thor said. "The Frost Giants have declared war on us."

"What use would you have for me? I only cast illusions," he said acidly. "I never actually fought, remember? You and your precious Warriors Three and Sif should be more than enough."

Thor's distress was evident, and Loki had to fight very hard to hide his surprise. For the first time during their long lives he saw anxiety on his blue eyes. Not even when they had been outnumbered during battle did he see on Thor a trace of any other thing that wasn't a mixture of bravado and excitement. There was unease and… fear?

"Brother, you don't understand, our father-"

"_Your_ father," he corrected. "And don't call me brother."

"What are you talking about?" Thor said, making a face. "Stop saying such nonsense! You have to come with me, it's very urgent! Father has fallen into the Odinsleep!"

"I can't. The Allfather sealed my magic and my immortality. Now I'm just a mortal man."

"There must be a way to-"

"There isn't," Loki interrupted him. "What happens to Asgard is no more my concern, nor is in my power to avoid it."

"How can you say such a thing?" Thor hollered. "You grew up there! Your family lives there! As the King I order you to-"

"I am not an Asgardian," Loki interrupted him, pausing a moment before speaking again, knowing that he was severing the last ties that connected him to Asgard. "A Frost Giant grabbed my arm during our incursion. I am immune to their touch. You surely know what that means."

Thor gaped at him, visibly struggling with this revelation for a moment.

"But, maybe your magic protected you," he ventured.

"No, Thor. Only having their blood can serve as protection. Father must have taken me when he last visited Jotunheim. You might recall something amiss when you were younger, like never seeing Mother pregnant."

Thor's eyes betrayed how he was now evoking past days, probably from when they were children. Thor had been old enough to register memories back when Loki had been supposedly born to Frigga. He was surely trying to fill the missing points that he had never questioned before.

"Odin fought against the Frost Giants who tried to enslave Midgard," Loki continued, finding a perverse pleasure in seeing Thor's expression. "And now he sent another who can build an empire for himself. Isn't it ironic?"

"An empire? Why would you do that? It was decided that Midgardians would be free from our influence many centuries ago."

"Have you the slightest idea of what they have done with their precious freedom?" Loki leered. "They have been massacring each other for so long they can't remember any other way of living, and in the last hundred years they have been several times on the brink of total annihilation. They need guidance, and I'm more than willing to provide it."

"Being a tyrant? You have gone mad!"

"Mad?" Loki nearly shouted. "You can claim Asgard's throne only because it's your birthright, because the ones who wrote the laws accounted for neither wisdom nor responsibility as obligatory to govern the Realm. _That_ is going mad. Look at yourself! So anxious of sitting there but now you can't even administer a war situation."

"Is this because of it? Because you wanted to be the king instead?"

"Hang the throne! I never wanted it, Thor, never! The only thing I've ever wanted was for someone to recognize my loyalty and my efforts at protecting it! But I tell you this: that now that I know myself not from Asgard I see Odin's punishment as a blessing instead, for I will be hereafter free from you and your friends' foolishness until the day I die. My only grief is that I won't have many years to savor it before Death takes me."

"LOKI!" Thor bellowed, grabbing his brother's shoulders in desperation. "Stop this at once! I will return your powers, I promise! But you have to come back home! I am the King, and I can lift your punishment!"

"I told you I don't have a home anymore," Loki said icily, without making a single movement. He knew that, more than hostile gestures, it was the lack of reaction what hurt Thor the most, as he could see when the blond released him. "What would your people think if you contradicted your father's last command? They need a sense of continuity in these hard times, Thor, every good governor knows it."

"Why do you turn on us?" Thor asked, his fists clenched in frustration.

"You turned on me from the very first day, Thor. Odin knew what I was from the beginning, yet he raised me to despise and scorn my own blood. All was well and good while I followed you like a shadow, protecting you from your reckless actions so you could reach your coronation day unscathed, but when he suspected that I wasn't fit anymore for that task he casted me away. Tell me, Thor, who is the liar now?"

"You will come with me," Thor insisted.

"What are you going to do?" Loki teased. "Abduct me? Do you know how obsessed Midgardians have become over the last years with what might be beyond their atmosphere? They would be scared to death if someone from another world came to kidnap one of them! And no doubt they will brand Asgard an enemy world, like they would do with Jotunheim if they knew of its existence."

Thor took a step towards him.

"I'll have you know that I am rather famous in Midgard," Loki continued without flinching. "My disappearance will be noticed and talked about, unless you want to take those two adorable ladies with us. Against their will, of course."

Thor's gaze turned to the laboratory's windows, from where Jane and Darcy stood looking at them with worried expressions. They couldn't have heard a word they had said, but the body language said everything they needed to know.

"Or maybe kill them," Loki said. "We all know that humans are not allowed in Asgard, and it would be very bad for a King's reputation to break the rules."

For a few seconds, Loki was already picturing the stronger man hauling him like a newborn cub and dragging him back to Asgard. But his words worked the desired effect, for Thor lowered his gaze in defeat for a moment.

"You are not coming back, then?"

"No."

"Very well," Thor said with badly restrained rage. "If you are not coming with me you are never to step on Asgard again. That is my command."

Loki could barely keep himself from smiling. So gullible, as always.

Thor turned away without another word and walked towards the desert, where Heimdall could take him back home. Loki was about to advise him against doing it in broad daylight, but remembered he was no longer in charge of Thor's behavior. He was now the King, let him decide what to do and when and see how well that would go.

"It looks like you are going to have another disturbance," he told Jane when he came back into the laboratory.

"Are you ok?" she asked anxiously.

"He looked as if he was about to rip you apart," Darcy pointed out.

"He might look fierce, but he wouldn't harm me," Loki laughed. "You might not have another opportunity to study the Bifrost, Jane, you might want to go with him."

"What!? NO!" she yelled, but quickly checked herself. "I… I mean, look at how angry he was! What if he takes it on us?"

"Us?" Darcy echoed with incredulity. "Jane, he's a frigging GOD!"

"If we are going somewhere, we are going together," Jane ordered.

"Thor has many weaknesses," Loki tried to calm them. "But he would never harm two ladies like you."

"Well," Darcy retorted. "He sure was bossy."

"He's a king on his land," Loki told them. "He's entitled to act as such, even when he's not there. Take comfort in the fact that it's very unlikely that you cross paths ever again."

"Will you follow us at least?" Jane pleaded.

"Very well," he sighed.

He then waited inside the building until the girls fetched Thor and everyone got into the van, to then follow on his car.

Finally reaching their destination, he leaned on the side of his vehicle, parked by the van, both at a good distance of the landing site. The girls were busy with their reading apparatus, Jane running to and fro like a squirrel on a tree, no doubt as a result of Loki telling her that this would be the last time that the Bifrost would be activated from Asgard in a very long time.

Thor, however, was oblivious to either the girls or Loki as he strode to the center of the pattern, his brow deeply creased on that frown that settled each time he didn't get his way.

Loki had expected feeling some sort of closure with sending Thor on his way home. It was true that he had found some relish in his dumbfounded expression, but beyond that it was as if he was watching everything happen to another person. He felt _void_.

Thor shouted a command to Heimdall to open the Bifrost, though before he finished the sky had already darkened with swirling clouds.

"That's too soon," Loki muttered.

The blast from the Bifrost's energy made him loose his balance. He heard the girls screaming inside the van, but the vehicle withstood the blast easily. Something was very wrong.

When the cloud of dust cleared, Loki saw five figures on the landing site; the four new visitors looked bloodstained and battered, and one seemed to have passed out while two others carried him. Thor was already addressing them, asking frantically what had happened. This time Loki felt a weigh in his stomach. That the Warriors Three and Sif had abandoned Asgard in such a state heralded bad news for everyone.

**xxxxXX-0-XXxxxx**

**AN2: **Christmas is around the corner and, look who came to pay a visit! Ah, nothing like a family reunion to make things interesting!


End file.
